Never Leave
by violet-phoenix-rose
Summary: Random R/T oneshot. He thought she would be better off without him, but of course she wasn't...


Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: This is just a little idea that came to me recently. It's not for a challenge or anything, but I hope you like it.

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In the dead of night, he left her. It had been a hard decision to make, but finally he'd realized that he just couldn't face what he'd done. He had ruined two lives, hers and the life of their unborn child, and he thought they would be so much better off without him. As he left the small house they called home, not knowing where he was going but knowing she truly did deserve a better life than the one he could give her, he wondered for a brief second what she would do when she woke up and saw that he wasn't there. Would she miss him, or would she accept, as he already had, that her life would be better without him there? Hopefully, someday he'd find out.

Before he left, he kissed her one last time, a farewell that she didn't even notice. He also left something behind, a slip of paper placed where she would certainly see it. On it were written the three words he'd never expected to want to say to anyone, the three words that would mean the world to her. He just hoped she wouldn't hate him forever after she realized what he'd done. She deserved a better life, and he was not meant to be part of it.

---

She awoke early, taking in the pre-dawn light that shaded the room. Something was different; she could feel it, even though she couldn't see it. There was something missing, and as she reached out, wanting to feel his familiar warmth by her side, she knew what had happened. He was gone, and there had been no advance warning, no sign subtly given to her that she would soon be alone again. Instead, she had to suffer the shock of it, the strange combination of anger and loss that was slowly taking over her.

As she rose from the bed, not wanting to think any more about his absence, something else caught her eye. It was a small piece of paper, placed on the center of the windowsill, unfolded, as though she was meant to see it. She walked over to the window and picked up the slip of paper, her eyes watering with tears as she read it. Written in his familiar handwriting were three words he had only said to her once, the first day they had been together. If ever such a short phrase had more meaning to her, she couldn't remember it.

_I love you_.

The words made her sad and also made her hate him, an intensified version of the emotions she'd felt from the moment she'd noticed he wasn't there. If he loved her, then why in the world had he left her alone, without even warning her it was going to happen? That wasn't what love was supposed to feel like - was it? If it was, then she never wanted to love again, never wanted to feel as shattered and broken as she did. She had truly fallen for him, but had he ever really loved her? Had he ever really seen himself having a life with her, having children with her, growing old with her? So many questions, so many things she wanted to know swirled around in her head, taking control of her, telling her she was supposed to hate him because of what he'd done, and yet she didn't hate him. Even though he had taken everything they had ever been together and thrown it away, she still loved him, and she missed him more than she thought it was possible to miss someone. She didn't care that he apparently didn't think he was meant to be with her; she was meant to be with him, and she would miss him terribly until she was back in his arms again.

---

Weeks passed, and along with them months. While she continued on with her life, pretending all was well, he wandered about the country, knowing he'd made a mistake, wondering how she'd taken it, and wondering if he could undo what he'd done. He wanted so desperately to go back to her, to tell her he'd been in the wrong and that he loved her, and he knew it was what he needed to do. Finally, ten days before Christmas, he found the bravery to do what he needed to do.

It was snowing lightly, covering the ground in a blanket of glittering whiteness. He looked around the yard and was unsurprised that nothing had changed, that the place still looked the same as it had when he'd left it, nearly four months earlier. Slowly, purposefully, he walked towards the front door, knocking on it when he reached it. If the circumstances were different, if he was certain she didn't hate him, he would've let himself in. As it was, he didn't want to do anything else wrong.

She opened the door cautiously, looking so much more sad than he had ever seen her before, than he ever wanted her to be. In his mind, she had never looked more beautiful than she did standing there, clearly pregnant and wearing jeans and a lime-green shirt. It took her several seconds to recognize him, but when she did, she let him in. The very second he was fully inside the house, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around him. "I've missed you so much," she said, beginning to cry tears of happiness. Not even in her wildest dreams had she ever thought he'd come back to her, and yet he had.

"I've missed you too," he replied, taking her hands off of him and placing his own upon her stomach. "Nothing's gone wrong, has it?" Now that he knew that she still cared, that she was still his, the world had taken on a brighter shade. Everything he'd done - leaving her, not coming back even when he knew that he needed to - seemed like such horrible mistakes, and yet once again, she didn't care. The way she didn't care what he did was what he liked best about her, even more than the way she was so hopelessly in love with him.

"Nothing at all," she said between sobs, and then it was her turn to move hands around. She took his hands and placed them on the small of her back, then wrapped her own around him again. The feeling of being close to him again was the best thing she'd ever tasted, better than even the first time he'd really seen her as someone to love. It took away all of the sadness she'd felt over the past four months and all of the hate she'd built up towards him. Even though he had ruined her life, he had also put it back together, undoing all of the bad things he'd done. "Don't _ever_ leave me again," she whispered, and then his lips found hers. In that moment, all of the regret of the past three-and-a-half months disappeared.


End file.
